The 25th anniversary of the founding of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh last week can hardly bring comfort to the party’s protagonists who are locked in a deep tussle with one another for dominance. The timing for the struggle to manifest itself in public forums all of last month, and then again at the silver jubilee, is singularly unfortunate from the SP’s point of view as it comes just about three months before Assembly election, which is deemed a major test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his opponents.
SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had invited political parties and leaders from other states as well, besides RLD chief Ajit Singh of western UP, to his celebration in the fond hope that the former “Janata Parivar” could come together to challenge the BJP. Due to its stunning performance in UP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party is thought to have become a key player in the state’s politics, jettisoning its earlier “also-ran” status.
The way the SP jamboree turned out, however, with open fights on the stage, the SP leadership as a whole was disgraced before Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ajit Singh, former PM H.D. Deve Gowda and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which was represented by its senior leaders.
In light of this, the atmosphere for a Bihar-style coalition that Mulayam Singh Yadav was hoping to stitch together to counter the BJP, that is seeking to polarise the “Hindu vote” in its favour, may be difficult to create.
It would have been hard in any case. Mr Yadav’s invitees are virtually nonexistent in UP, except the RLD. Also, Mayawati’s BSP is an established force in UP’s political landscape and it aims to fight both the BJP and SP. So a “mahagathbandhan” (grand alliance) on the Bihar model was anyhow inconceivable.
Nevertheless, if the SP was able to create the right vibes at its anniversary celebrations, it is possible a party like the Congress — a small but relevant force — could have found the SP’s parlour beckoning. But clearly not now.
The moves by the SP, Congress and BSP are mainly to see that the state’s key Muslim vote is not fragmented among “secular” parties, but goes to them instead in a big chunk. At present, it seems the BSP is the lead player ranged against the BJP. However, if the SP formally splits, and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav assumes de jure authority to grant party tickets to his followers (now that rests with his uncle and arch-foe Shivpal), and brings off a successful poll adjustment with the RLD and Congress, such a plank could benefit from strong Muslim support. In the SP, the young chief minister has emerged as the main draw.
